O`DONNELL: Yesterday, the McNair Elementary School in Decatur, Georgia, had 870 students. That was before 20-year-old man allegedly walked in with semi-automatic weapon and 500 rounds of ammunition and started shooting.

Well, there is only one way that story could end. Wayne LaPierre told us so. Seven days after a 20-year-old man with a semiautomatic weapon walked into a school in Connecticut and killed 26 people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAPIERRE: The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

Security is only available with properly trained, armed good guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Today, the McNair Elementary School has 870 students, and it wasn`t a properly trained good guy with a gun who saved them. It was Antoinette Tuff, the school bookkeeper.

She was in the front office of the school, behind a locked door when the man slipped in behind a parent who had been buzzed in through the security door. Antoinette described her first encounter with the shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTOINETTE TUFF: He came in with the gun drawn, he said, I`m not playing, this is for real, this is not for show. He had a look on him, that he was willing to kill. As a matter of fact, he said it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Antoinette Tuff, who was unarmed, knew that she had to keep the gunman occupied. At this point, the school was on lockdown, and police were already on scene. She called the local news media, the 911, at the gunman`s request. And the 911 call released today captured what happened in the final 14 minutes o the encounter.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: DeKalb police. What`s the emergency?

TUFF: Yes, ma`am, I`m on Second Avenue in the school, and the gentleman said tell them to hold down, the police officers are coming and he said, he`s going to start shooting. So tell him to back off.

OPERATOR: OK, one moment.

TUFF: Do not let anybody in the building -- including the police. Do not let anybody in the building, including the police.

OPERATOR: OK, stay on the line with me, ma`am. Where are you?

TUFF: I`m in the front office.

He just went inside and started shooting. Where can I run?

OPERATOR: Can you get somewhere safe?

TUFF: Yes, I got to go. He is going to see me running. He`s coming back. Oh, hold on.

OPERATOR: Put the phone down.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Antoinette Tuff did put the phone down, but she did not hang up the phone, she stayed on the line with 911. Antoinette later told reporters that the gunman ran out of ammunition when he fired those shots. He came back in the office and started to reload in front of her with ammunition he brought in a book bag, 500 rounds of ammunition, according to police.

But with no weapon, Antoinette, completely unarmed, continued to try to talk him down.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TUFF: He said he should have just went to the mental hospital instead of doing this, because he is not on his medication.

OPERATOR: OK.

TUFF: Do you want me to try -- I can help you, you want me to talk to them? Do you want me to talk to them and try --

(INAUDIBLE)

TUFF: OK, well, let me talk to them and let`s see if we can work it out so you don`t have to go away with them for a long time.

SHOOTER: I`m already on probation.

TUFF: No, it does matter.

I can let them know that you have not tried to harm e or do anything with me or anything, if you want to.

(INAUDIBLE)

TUFF: But that doesn`t made any different, you didn`t hit anybody.

SHOOTER: You don`t know that.

TUFF: OK. Let me ask you this, ma`am. He didn`t hit anybody, he just shot outside the door, if I walk out there with him -- if I walk out there with him, so they won`t shoot him or anything like that. He wants to give himself up, is that OK? And they won`t shot him?

OPERATOR: Yes, ma`am.

TUFF: He say he just want to go to the hospital.

OPERATOR: OK.

TUFF: She said --

OPERATOR: Hold on one moment.

TUFF: She said hold on, he is going to talk to the police officer, now go out there with you. Put it all up there. OK.

OPERATOR: He put the weapon down?

TUFF: Yes.

So hold on before you come, he is putting everything down. He is going to get on the floor. So tell him to hold on a minute. So let him get everything together. He is getting it altogether.

OK, tell me when you`re ready, and I`ll tell him to come on in. We`re not going to hurt you, baby, it is a good thing that you have given up. We`re not going to hate you.

OPERATOR: Ma`am, you`re doing a great job.

TUFF: So let`s do it before the helicopters and stuff like that come. You hear them?

SHOOTER: Yes.

TUFF: OK. So -- you want to go ahead and you want me to tell them to come on in now?

(INAUDIBLE)

TUFF: OK, he is getting everything of his pockets now.

OPERATOR: OK.

TUFF: OK, he said the gun may come back and say it`s stolen. But it`s not. He knows the whole story about the gun. He let you all know that.

OPERATOR: OK.

TUFF: Do y`all want him to take his belt off?

OPERATOR: Yes, that is fine, just take all his weapons off.

TUFF: OK, she said that is fine, just take all the weapons off. He said he don`t have no more weapons.

OPERATOR: OK.

TUFF: OK. So, you got out -- OK, he is on the ground now with his hands behind the back, tell the officers don`t come in shooting or anything, tell them to come on in, and I`ll buzz them in.

OPERATOR: OK.

TUFF: So, hold on and just sit right there. I`ll buzz them in, OK, so you know when they`re coming, OK? OK.

So just stay there calm, don`t worry about it. I`m going to sit here so you can see they`re not trying to harm me, OK?

SHOOTER: OK.

OPERATOR: OK.

TUFF: It`s going to be all right, sweetheart, I just want you to know that I love you, though, OK, and I`m proud of you. That is a good thing that you`re just giving up and don`t worry bit. We all go through something in life.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: And here is what happened in the final 90 seconds, when the bad guy with a gun was stopped by a good woman without one.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TUFF: You stay right there. You`re fine. You said he want him to go out there with his hands up or do you want him to stay right here?

OPERATOR: Stay right where he is.

TUFF: OK, she said stay right where you are.

(INAUDIBLE)

TUFF: He wants to know if he can get some of his water right quick. Yes, Michael, you said, Michael Hill, right?

OK. Guess what, Michael? My last name is Hill, too, you know, my mom was a Hill.

He said what are y`all waiting for? What is taking them so long to come on?

OPERATOR: OK, one moment.

TUFF: She says she is getting to them now, they`re coming. They`re coming. So just hold on, Michael. Go ahead and lay down. Go ahead and lay down. Don`t put the phone -- OK, you just got the phone. OK, that is fine. Tell him to come on, come on.

Okay, he just got his phone, that is all he got is the phone.

OFFICER: Do not move.

TUFF: It`s just him. OK. It`s just him.

Hello?

OPERATOR: Yes.

TUFF: I`m going to tell you something, baby, I`ve never been so scared for my life.

They peddled this myth that only a guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun. And this proves that is not the case. There are times when an active shooter needs to be actively stopped. But those are very few actual cases that that occurred. And this demonstrates their other approaches to public safety in our schools that needs to be talked about and pursued.

O`DONNELL: And, Krystal, police were on scene fast enough. And they were on the scene fast enough to go in there with guns and intervene, and we have no idea what would have happened if they had.

KRYSTAL BALL, THE CYCLE: Right, that is exactly right. And God bless Antoinette Tuff, what an incredible woman. We can`t always count on there being an Antoinette Tuff at that school, in that position to be able to talk the person down, to be able to make that call.

It is unfortunate, it`s unbelievable that we have a system where guns are so prevalent, where they have proliferated so much in our society, that it can get to that point where someone can show up, a mentally disturbed person with an AK-47, and have to rely on someone like an Antoinette Tuff, as that last line of defense for these children. It`s just an unbelievable situation.

O`DONNELL: Ana Marie, the NRA has made sure that our mass murderers, our aspiring mass murderers are best equipped in the world, and one of them walked in there today, with the 500 rounds of ammunition and the NRA did everything that they could to make him as effective as he could be today.

ANA MARIE COX, THE GUARDIAN: Right. And then what they like to do is make Antoinette Tuff as effective.

You know, they talked about training teachers with guns. I think if you train teachers to do stuff like what Antoinette Tuff did. And also, if teachers (INAUDIBLE) in that kind of negotiation and that kind of way of talking to students, that does a lot of good in a lot of other situations. Not just talking down a gunman.

Actually, I was looking at the national education statistics, and it`s true that actually schools are one place in our lives that the presence of guns are decreasing. School security measures like as metal detectors, like having to sign in and like uniforms, like trying teachers about being able to stop gun violence, schools have gotten more safer. Students report that they feel safe at school. To add guns into that equation would actually undo (INAUDIBLE).

O`DONNELL: The background on the shooter, Michael Brandon Hill, 20 years old. He carried an AK-47 style rifle, two bags of ammunition, a rifle, he has prior felony arrests, threatened to shoot his brother. He is on three year`s probation.

And, Frank Smyth, this is the kind of guy who the NRA says, oh, we don`t want to have a gun. But he has shown us how easily it is for him, with his criminal record, with his mental instability to get his hands on whatever he wants.

SMYTH: And on top of that, Lawrence, I`ve been monitoring the NRA Twitter feeds and like-minded Twitter feeds. And they have said next to nothing about this case.

It doesn`t fit within their world view, that they can`t process it. So, they are saying absolutely nothing or next to nothing about this particular incident that has the attention of the rest of the nation, because they have no response. They don`t know what to say.

O`DONNELL: And, Krystal, if this had been the worse case scenario, and we saw 26 bodies or more coming out of that school, you know, we would obviously bring a kind of saturation coverage, all the cable news channels would have stopped.

You know, as soon as I heard that this was stopped, nobody was harmed, I thought we have to bring as much attention to this in this program tonight as we would if some of those kids in that school had not survived.

BALL: That is exactly right. And not only should we bring attention to it on the platforms we have. But we also need to pressure the legislators in the way that we did after Sandy Hook. I mean, it`s unbelievable that we couldn`t even pass a basic background check bill in the wake of Sandy Hook.

O`DONNELL: You know, Ana, for the parents in that school today, it is something of a miracle. It is luck that their kids came home safely.

COX: It is luck, I guess I do believe in providence. I don`t believe it was just luck. It sounds to me like there was a reason why Antoinette Tuff was there.

I was very moved by that entire conversation. And I do come back believe that this is what we need to train teachers in. This is the kind of -- this is what -- if the NRA wanted to use Sandy Hook as an excuse to say we needed to train teachers and arm them and shield our schools with weapons, what we need is teachers who know how to talk to people, administrators who need to know how to talk to people.

This is the thing that we can replicate in other schools. This is the thing that could actually save more lives because it would not be putting more weapons into the equation.

O`DONNELL: And frank, it shows that there is a kind of empowerment you can bring to school administrators and teachers in situations like this, without them strapping guns on their hips.

SMYTH: Absolutely, if you have armed guards and armed teachers in schools, it creates a terrible environment for learning. It undermines the goals you`re trying to achieve, and it divides the community.

And what you want exactly what Ana Marie said, our teachers who have the skills and are trained to have the skills to be able to talk through and avoid violence and cool things down, as opposed to escalating them. And that`s something that the gun lobby simply doesn`t understand.

O`DONNELL: And, Krystal, the outrage for those parents we`re seeing on the video there, getting their kids today, is that a guy was in their school with 500 rounds. He had no trouble getting that. He had a weapon that could have wiped out hundreds of kids. He was in there, and it is -- you know, it is something of a miracle that those kids were able to go home.

But how can you feel good as a parent? Well, you know, there was a gunman in there today, but, you know, he didn`t kill anybody, and so, let`s all just go back to school in this happy country of ours where a gunman gets to walk into school.

BALL: That is exactly right. I mean, any sense of safety that those parents had before has certainly been shattered, because there is nothing to keep another person, another mentally ill person from bringing another AK-47 to that school or to any school in our country, with 500 rounds of ammunition.

And as Ana Marie said, I think it was Providence that Antoinette was there. Thank God she was there. But we should be not be putting our kids in such a situation where we have to rely on having that kind of Providence and having that kind of miraculous person in the line there.

COX: Yes, if I can just add. The Sandy Hook parents were mobilized out of grief. These parents could be mobilized out of gratitude.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, Wayne LaPierre was actually right when he warned gun owners about a huge data base that was tracking everyone in America who owned a gun. But he did not warn them that the NRA was keeping that database themselves. We have the reporter who exposed the NRA`s big data on gun owners, coming up.

And later, the American journalist who appeared on Russian TV to talk about Bradley Manning and then refused to talk about anything but Russia`s oppressive anti-gay laws.

And the son of the man who inspired the film, Lee Daniels, "The Butler", will join me for his first national interview, along with the screenwriter of that film.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: A military judge sentenced Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison today for his role in leaking thousands of secret government documents to WikiLeaks. NBC News Keir Simmons was with Bradley Manning`s mother, Susan, when she learned of the sentence.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

O`DONNELL: Bradley Manning`s attorney says that with credit for time served and good behavior, Bradley Manning could be out of prison in seven years.

Up next, Wayne LaPierre and the NRA once warned that if the government created a list of gun owners, it could be hacked by the Chinese. But he didn`t say what would happen if the NRA created a list of gun owners, who might hack that. And the NRA has done exactly that.

And the reporter who broke the story will join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAPIERRE: It`s going to be people like you and me. That is who their checks will be. That`s what they`re after -- the names of good, decent people all over this great country who happen to own a firearm, to go into a federal database for universal registration of every lawful gun owner in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Wayne LaPierre was right about trying to assemble a list of every lawful gun owner in America, but it`s not the federal government compiling that list. It is Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Association.

The NRA has been secretly compiling the country`s largest database of current, former and prospective gun owners in the United States. According to BuzzFeed, that database has been built through years of acquiring gun permit registration list from the state and county offices, gathering names of new owners from the thousands of gun safety classes taught by the NRA-certified instructors, and by buying list of attendees of gun shows, subscribers to gun magazines and more.

The result: a big data power house that has deployed the high tech tactics all year round that the vaunted Obama campaign used to win two presidential elections.

When BuzzFeed asked the NRA what it is doing with the data, an NRA spokesperson replied, quote, "That`s not any of your business."

Joining me now is Steve Friess, a contributor for BuzzFeed, who wrote that article. And, back with us is investigative journalist Frank Smyth.

Steve, how did you dig this one up?

STEVE FRIESS, BUZZFEED: Well, you know, the big question that he keeps coming up whenever we talk about gun legislation, how does an association that has nearly 3 million, maybe 4 million members, it`s really not clear what the membership is, because they kind of don`t tell the truth all the time about what the membership is, but if its` 3 million to 4 million people, how does a group of 3 million to 4 million people have this kind of influence, the ability to shut down legislation that has such overwhelming public support?

And the answer is data. The answer is that they have collected the information on people, and they know how to activate many, many times the number of people who are actually members of their organization. And you know, they go into a congressman`s office. They go into a city council office or a state legislator`s office and they lay it out.

They show exactly who they know. And those people realize that those are voters that will vote, will respond to their message. And they have tested those message. They have a very sophisticated message there.

O`DONNELL: And, Steve, this list has been put together without the knowledge of the people on these lists.

FRIESS: Yes, I mean, one of the things that is interesting about my day today has been looking at Twitter. And seeing people thinking well, of course, members of the NRA are on that list. OK, so fine, so members of the NRA are on that list.

But there are also thousands, probably millions of people who are required by law if they want to have a concealed carry permit to take safety classes. And by and large, those safety classes are taught by NRA instructors. That is not the same as going to take a safety class.

These are people who are out in the community. They are 97,000 of them across the country, far more than the number of volunteers I believe that President Obama had in his campaign, a lot of people. And they`re out there teaching these classes. And in many cases, the law requires you take the class from an NRA certified instructor because this goes back to the NRA`s own heritage before it became a very political organization, it was honest to goodness organization that was focused on teaching people how to use guns safely.

O`DONNELL: I want to read something that Ted Cruz said about such a registry. "In my judgment, a federal registry of firearms, the government keeping a list of firearms that is lawfully owned by every law-abiding citizen would be terrible policy and would be inconsistent with the Constitution."

No word tonight, Frank Smyth, on what Ted Cruz thinks of the NRA assembling that list for themselves.

SMYTH: And the NRA isn`t talking about this either. And even in the NRA community, people are not sure what to make of it.

This is a tremendous, difficult story for the NRA to explain to its hardcore base, especially the libertarian wing that is very fearful of any list of any kind. The NRA is claiming that they`re afraid of big brother, but the NRA now is playing a big brother role by collecting this data. One of the points that LaPierre made is that this kind of data, if it exists in any form, could be hacked into it. The NRA seems to be oblivious that their own list could be hacked into and obtained by people outside of their organization.

So, this is really a very dangerous story for the gun lobby and one that they wish to go away. And, Steve, you`ve done a great job.

O`DONNELL: And, Steve, even beyond the hacking question -- I mean, the list like this in certain forms of litigation would be subject to subpoena. Other parties could get their hands on it for various reasons, down the road, in foreseeable and unforeseeable litigation circumstances. So, the privacy that I think a lot of gun owners who are not members of the NRA, they don`t -- they don`t want to get their names on the list of gun owners. The privacy that a lot of them think they have doesn`t actually exist. The NRA has taken away that privacy.

FRIESS: Well, and that is the point. I mean, if you join the NRA, you probably give them the right to do whatever they need to with your data. And in fact, you know, other people were saying, well, are there companies? Google, whoever it is, they all have this data, too.

But the fact is at least in some probably fake way, but nonetheless, some legally binding way, you click accept when you start to use an app on your phone or whatever. You -- nobody reads all that stuff. But you do give permission.

In this case, you`ve got people who have no idea that they`re in this database. And they probably have no control over it either. Today, I was kind of being asked if people could call the NRA and ask them to get their names off the list. I`m suspecting the NRA will pretend they don`t have it.

O`DONNELL: Steve Friess and Frank Smyth, thank you both very much for joining me tonight.

FRIESS: Thanks for having me, Lawrence.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, Charles Allen, who was the son of the man who inspired the film by Lee Daniels "The Butler" will join me and talk about his father and his feelings watching that film.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: In the spotlight tonight, Lee Daniels` "the Butler" in its opening weekend, the film starring Forest Whittaker and Oprah Winfrey was number one at the box office taking $25 million. The famous inspired by the life of Eugene Allen who worked as a White House butler for 24 years beginning with President Harry Truman and ending with President Ronald Reagan. In those years, Eugene Allen became invaluable to the operations of the White House.

Here is how Nancy Reagan, played by Jane Fonda, chose to express her gratitude to Eugene Allen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re very popular around here. Everyone says you are the man who got the raise and promotion. I had no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I could take credit for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to invite you to the state dinner next week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m going to be there, Mrs. Reagan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not as a butler, Cecil. I`m inviting you as a guest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the president prefers for me to serve in person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don`t you worry about Ronnie. I will take care of that. So we`ll see you next week, you and your wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is Gloria, yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma`am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: The movie spans a period of dramatic change in America and profound generational changes in black America. Eugene Allen and his family had to struggle with the challenges of the times on the street and at the dinner table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the name of that movie, honey?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the heat of the night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the heat of the night with Sidney Poitier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sidney Poitier is a white man`s fantasy of what he wants us to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just won the academy award, he is breaking barriers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About being a White, for acting White. Sidney Poitier is nothing but a rich Uncle Tom. Look at you, all puffed up, with your hat on your head, saying whatever you want. You`re free to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the hell out of my house? I`m sorry Mr. Butler. I didn`t mean to make fun of your hero!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler.

Charles, I have to ask you, what was it like for you sitting, watching this film that`s depiction of your father?

CHARLES ALLEN, EUGENE ALLEN`S SON: It was great. Danny spent a lot of time with us. That is one of the things that I was happy about that he actually got to meet my father and talk with him extensively and with myself. And a lot of these things, he has really pretty accurately captured the contention, a lot of the contention that was between my dad and I, my dad, being a very conservative person, and myself, of a more liberal bent.

O`DONNELL: Charles, talk a minute about where your conversations with your father, where would they be now if he was still with us, and now that you`re an older man and you have a perspective on your youth, and you have a perspective on what your father went through and what America has gone through during your lifetime?

ALLEN: The older I became, the more I came around to my father`s way of thinking. You know, I thought like the (INAUDIBLE) in the picture, I thought that I knew everything. I think my father, now, you know, we would be more like-minded in this way we looked at things. We were both happy about, you know, President Obama`s ascendancy. You know, unfortunately, my mother missed that by a day.

You know, my father would be thrilled. I mean, a lot of things that are going on now he could have never realized. I remember how happy he was when Charles Gettons (ph) became the special agent in charge of the secret service. I remember how happy he was when Colin Powell came down to the White House. And he said you know, they got a young man there now, he is going places. But you know, this whole thing about Barack of becoming president, you know, he never couldn`t have imagined it until it actually happened.

O`DONNELL: And he did live to see that.

ALLEN: Yes, he did, we went to the inauguration. Very arduous experience for him also.

O`DONNELL: Tell us why.

ALLEN: Well, we had to walk about, you know, anybody who was here can remember that there was something -- it like a biblical movement, an exodus. And we get the subway let us off about a mile from the capital. And my father was, I think, 89 years old at the time. And it was very hard on him. And he had to stop and rest. And you know, Will Haygood (ph) was with us, and my wife, you know, they were assisting me. And he said no, he said let me rest. I`m going on. But we made it. We did, we made it up to the capital. And we got up to the orange section, which is right up there in front of the podium. And you know, just some of the looks that he gave me in watching that. You know, when Barack --President Obama was coming down the hall we realized that it was really going to happen. And he just looked at me. You know, he was not a man of a lot of words. It was just the way he looked at me that I know that he was fulfilled.

O`DONNELL: Yes, it was an unforgettable place in that day. I think I was located not far from you in that crowd.

Danny Strong, you had at first nothing to go on but a "Washington Post" article, I will never forget that. I remember reading that day. This is fascinating, the butler who has been there for 34 years. You come upon the article and you see a movie?

DANNY STRONG, STORYWRITER, THE BUTLER: Yes, it was actually often by Sony Pictures and (INAUDIBLE) our great producer, a real legend in the business. And she brought it into me, actually, and she said do you think you can turn this into a movie? I thought I have no idea how to do this. But there is a very special movie in here if I could just figure it out. I knew it was something I had to try to do.

O`DONNELL: And you were going to have to do it as a historian reporter before you got play screenwriter. You had to sit down with the family members and get a much fuller story than what you could get out of a newspaper article.

STRONG: Yes, absolutely. And it is so wonderful being here right now on the show with Charles Allen, because we spent so much time together all of those years ago. And now we have a movie, and we are on television, on your show, talking about it. It is really exciting. And I spent a lot of time with Charles, I got to interview Eugene Allen, which was really a great honor, and then I got to interview other people at the White House, as well -- other butlers, chief ushers, engineers. And I just got so many other wonderful stories. Then I was -- I just thought well, I got to get all these stories into the movies. It is just too good.

O`DONNELL: And Charles, we don`t often realize how our parents are regarded in their work place because we don`t get to be in there so much and see them. When you were growing up and before Danny was able to tell this story in the full way that has, did you have a real sense of how your father was regarded by the presidents, and by others in the White House?

ALLEN: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I knew that he was revered by his co-workers. He got what he gave. In all of the presidents, people would ask him, and so, who was your favorite president? And he would say, well, I liked all of them. And he really did. He found something in each of the presidents that he liked. And I think these people could pick that up. And those films were reciprocated. I know -- I think of Mrs. Ford, the Ford family. Mrs. Ford was an absolute sweetheart. I mean, she used to call our father on his birthday and wish him a happy birthday. He and Mrs. Ford shared the same birthday. And you know, just some of the things, you know, he would tell me that eventually would slip out of him, about the firs families and it was really fascinating.

O`DONNELL: How often did he bring work home? I mean, was it a common thing at the dinner table for, you know, an interesting thing happened in the White House today.

ALLEN: No. Lawrence, if you have will recall in the movie, they have a code at the White House. And you know, you`re not supposed to come and divulge information about the families and stuff. And that worked very well for my father, because he was a very private person anyway. And so, he would -- but you know, my father was also human and he would say things. But as far as a running dialog about what was going on at the White House, no, he didn`t do that. And he never came -- I wanted to ask, but also he never -- he never came in and cut one of the first families and the dignitaries or any people he worked with. Not one day.

O`DONNELL: Danny, often in this kind of work, when you get the work out there more information will come to you by somebody who said, you know, I knew this. Had you been picking up little nuggets that you would wish you hadn`t in the writing process?

STRONG: Yes, actually I had a really special moment at one of our screenings where a woman came up to me and she was in other 70s, and she said I was a freedom writer and no one has ever thanked me before, so thank you.

It was really - I just thought it such a special moment because so much of this film is a salute to the people who fought in the civil rights movement and sort to have someone who is actually there see the movie and appreciate it was really fantastic.

And to have Charles Allen, who called me after the first time and feel proud of it because Charles is one of those people where he lived it. You know, you want them to be happy. So it was a really wonderful feeling.

O`DONNELL: That was your most important review, Charles Allen.

STRONG: Yes, absolutely.

O`DONNELL: Danny Strong, and Charles Allen, thank you both very much for joining me tonight.

STRONG: Thank you.

ALLEN: Thank you, Lawrence, and thank you again, Danny.

STRONG: Thank you, Charles.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, a lesson in how to be a guest on a Russian TV talk show by a man who was kicked off the show for what he insisted on saying about Russia`s anti-gay law.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: Wyoming senate candidate Liz Cheney paid a $220 fine today for making a false statement on an application for a fishing license last year. The former Virginia resident, Liz Cheney, who is also a lawyer, received a license 72 days after closing on her Wyoming house in May 2012, but state law requires that residents live in the state for a full year before being eligible for a resident license. Cheney released this statement tonight where she kind of -- I don`t know, blamed Sean Hannity and blamed the clerk.

On August 3rd 2012, I spent the day on the Snake River with the group of wounded warriors and the rivers of recovery organization. I had arranged Sean Hannity to film the group for a special he later ran on FOX News. When I went in to purchase a license, the clerk asked if I was a resident. I said yes, because I was living in Wyoming. It was my mistake not to realize there was a 365-day requirement to hold a resident license. The clerk did not ask how long I had lived in Wyoming.

Well, I guess we`ll just have to take her word for that about the clerk. Liz Cheney currently trails her opponent, incumbent Republican senator Mike Enzi by some 28 points, according to the latest survey by the public policy polling.

Amazing video, next in the rewrite of a guest on a Russian talk show, just refusing to play their game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: In tonight`s rewrite, rewriting the rules of political talk TV in Russia. Freelance journalist James Kirchik was invited on Russia`s state-funded network RT today to discuss the Bradley Manning case. It was one of those panel discussions much like we have on this program. And when his time came to throw in his two cents about Bradley Manning, he threw in a lot more than two cents about something else.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: James, let me ask you the same position and establishing question.

JAMES KIRCHIK, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: Yes, well, Harvey Fierstein is a very famous American playwright and actor. He said that being silenced in the face of evil is something that we can`t do. And so, you know, being here on a Kremlin propaganda network, I`m going to wear my gay pride suspenders. I`m going to speak out against the horrific anti-gay legislation that Vladimir Putin has signed into law that was passed unanimously by the Russian Duma that criminalizes homosexual propaganda, essentially making it illegal to talk about homosexuality in public.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

KIRCHIK: Do you a faith of violent attacks on gay people --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: James, we will discuss that later. But sir, what about Bradley Manning, first?

KIRCHIK: I am not really interested in talking about Bradley Manning. I`m interested in talking about the horrific environment of h homophobia in Russia right now, and to let the Russians gay people that they have friends and allies and solidarity from people all over the world, and we are not going to be silenced in the face of this horrific repression that is perpetrated by the (INAUDIBLE), by your pay masters, by Vladimir Putin. That is what I`m here to talk about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

KIRCHIK: Yes, that`s what why I here to talk about. And I don`t know who how as a journalist you can sleep at night. It seems what happens to that journalists in Russia who are routinely harassed, tortured, in some cases kill by the Russian government.

(CROSSTALK)

KIRCHIK: And how can go to sleep at night. I find that (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come over here and see for yourself.

KIRCHIK: Everyone on this network should be ashamed of yourself. And they should cover what is happening in Russia. You should cover the horrific abuse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re waiting for the verdict.

KIRCHIK: You know, you have 24 hours a day to lie about the United States and to ignore what is happening in Russia. You have 24 hours to do that. I am going to take my two minutes and tell people the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, are you ready to have a conversation about Bradley Manning right now with the panel that we have put assembled?

KIRCHIK: RT has been Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden 24/7. I didn`t see anything on your network about the anti-gay laws passed in Russia, the violence and hostility against gay people. Where is the coverage of that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James, last week we held a panel discussion on the program about the laws. I think you will find it very informative, and you can find it on You Tube. It was hosted by (INAUDIBLE). We have a representatives of some of the other TV and communities here. I think it is an issue we take very seriously here on the channel.

KIRCHIK: You can`t say what they say on you -- they can`t make these comments on Russian television. They can write these things in a Russian newspaper but can`t hold a demonstration in Russian squares.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O`DONNELL: James Kirchik will be my guest right here tomorrow night and he most definitely will get "the Last Word."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: Ari Melber is going to get "the Last Word" tonight and he is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: The junior senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, continues his crusade against funding the affordable care act. But Texas Governor Rick Perry now wants $100 million of the funding that Ted Cruz wants to kill. The affordable care act funding and you he wants that directed to Texas. Rick Perry has claims to be just as opposed as Obamacare Ted Cruz is, but now Governor Perry is reportedly in negotiation with the Obama administration about obtaining, nearly $100 million in Medicaid funding from the affordable care act for Texas.

And Ari Melber is shocked. Shocked, right? You`re just stunned.

ARI MELBER, MSNBC HOST, THE CYCLE: It is stunning. The saddest part of the article about this in "Politico" was a report from a Texas anonymous source that said they are worry, if this is publicly discussed, Perry may actually back out because her doesn`t want it really getting a lot of attention that he might take money for healthcare.

(CROSSTALK)

O`DONNELL: Two minutes left in the show.

MELBER: So we`re not helping.

O`DONNELL: Let`s talk about it or something else because we are not supposed to discuss it because this will be bad for the people of Texas if Perry doesn`t vote for this Medicaid funding.

MELBER: Right. And I think even Republicans, this is what sad, as eve Republicans are well-aware of that. Their argument is simply well, yes, we don`t any money from our own people to have this healthcare. You have got about 19 states that are full into the program. That is more than some people expected given how many Republicans claimed they would go against it. And several more, according to the advisory board`s account that are close to coming in. I actually think it is relatively fast given that this is a new national program that well, everyone --

O`DONNELL: It is optional.

MELBER: It is optional, yes.

O`DONNELL: The Supreme Court made it optional. The bill that was supposed to be mandatory. And my feeling was, any Republican governor who wants to run for president will not be able to take Obamacare Medicaid money.

MELBER: Right, and that will be the most direct, dispositive proof that they are looking beyond their states, beyond their constituents towards what people in Iowa freak out about.

O`DONNELL: And we saw Jan Brewer struggling with this in her state, ended up going for the Obama care money.

MELBER: Yes. And I think overtime, we are going to see that more and more, either because there will be Republicans who are replaced over the issue, because not everyone is running for president, and because ultimately, over time it gets hard to defend to your state why you should essentially raise their taxes over this issue or denying them Medicaid/Medicare, as we all know, are some of the most popular parts of the social insurance programs that we have in this country. That part of Obama care only subsidized it. Didn`t change that piece, just subsidized it.

O`DONNELL: Ari Melber, the closer, gets tonight`s "Last Word."

Chris Hayes is up next.

END

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